14 DAY TRIAL // Famous rapper Lil Wayne has been declared dead once again by pranksters. False rumors circulating on social media networks claim that he died because of a drug overdose.
Twitter is currently being flooded with tweets such as “RIP Lil' Wayne 1997 – 2008,” “Lil Wayne dead! RIP king of rap,” “RIP Lil Wayne, you were my favorite rapper” and “Lil Wayne died drug overdose.”
In reality, although he has had some health issues recently, the rapper is not dead. As Hoax Slayer points out, he has even posted a message on Facebook saying that “he’s good.”
Of course, as his fans already know, this isn’t the first time when Lil Wayne is falsely declared dead. Rumors about his death were also circulating online back in 2008 and in 2011.
With this latest hoax, the artist joins the ranks of John Cena, Morgan Freeman, Rey Mysterio, Johnny Depp and many other celebrities who have been falsely declared dead in the past months.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that such hoaxes could easily be leveraged by cybercriminals in their campaigns.
They can set up fake video sites that promise exclusive footage or other outrageous content. On these websites, users will not find the much promised materials, instead they’re being served a rogue browser extension, or even a piece of malware that’s capable of stealing information and taking control of computers.
Such rumors can also be used to lure users to surveys or advertisement websites. As experts highlighted on numerous occasions in the past, the scammers earn money each time someone visits these sites or completes the surveys.
The conclusion is that users should be careful before spreading unverified stories since they could be unwittingly contributing to the success of a malicious operation.